City picks bank for City Hall funding

City Council members have chosen a bank to finance the $4 million renovation of Goldsboro's original City Hall.

Finance Director Richard Durham recommended Monday that the council accept the terms of a loan for the project from BB&T. Unanimously, its members approved his recommendation.

Seven institutions offered the city financing, but in the end, going with BB&T will save the taxpayers close to $100,000, officials said.

Durham said the $4 million will be paid over the next 15 years, with a $3,300 origination fee. An interest rate of 3.87 percent will be applied to the loan, bringing the total to be paid off to just less than $5.2 million.

The project is the second in a three-phase City Hall project.

The first, involved the construction of the new City Hall facility along Center Street -- an effort that carried with it a $4.5 million price tag.

Once that project was completed and staff moved into the facility, City Council members voted to move ahead with a portion of Phase III, tearing down the old city annex building.

Assistant City Manager Tasha Logan said it is still unclear when work at the decade-old City Hall will begin.

The building has been gutted and minor interior demolition has taken place, but the brunt of the work is not expected to begin until the bid process ends and a firm is hired, she said.

But Phase II will not only include renovation and restoration of the building itself.

In fact, the two statues that used to stand on its roof have already been taken down and shipped to Maryland for repair by Conservation Solutions, Inc.

And a fountain and bridge in between the new and old city halls also will be constructed during this phase.

Once all that work is completed -- an effort some officials said will likely take a year-plus -- the remaining pieces of Phase III will be put into place -- paving the vacant lot that a few months ago housed the annex building and creating additional parking for city staff.